Devin Taylor has a loud collegiate send-off driving in four runs
By Carl James @jovian34 May 23rd, 2025
“[Cole Gilley & Ben Grable] went out on a high note. They went out as great competitors and warriors.”
“[Devin Taylor] will go down as one of, if not the, greatest player in the history of the program.”— Head Coach Jeff Mercer
Indiana Hoosiers 5, Iowa Hawkeyes 0
Inning by inning details in the Live Game Blog | Box Score
OMAHA, NE – Indiana’s pitching combination of Cole Gilley and Ben Grable shut out 3-seed Iowa late Thursday to conclude pool play in the B1G Tournament. Iowa, with a loss in this Pool C game, still advances to the semi-final against UCLA as the highest seed with a 1-1 record in the three-way tied pool. Indiana and Rutgers, as the lower seeds, are eliminated from the tournament.
After the game head coach Jeff Mercer told iubase.com, “If you said we were going to go 18 innings and given up 5 runs to start the [tournament] I would have taken that. We pitched it really well in both games.” When talking about the combination of Gilley and Grable, Mercer said, “They went out on a high note. They went out as great warriors and competitors. It was fun to just sit and watch and be a part of it.”
Before this month it had been over two years since Indiana pitchers put up a bagel. They have now produced two in the month of May (including against Purdue at home), and Iowa has a very prolific offense.
Gilley wasn’t very sharp right out of the gate, but he escaped a first inning jam and started to get better command of his assortment and kept the Hawkeyes from scoring in the first six innings. He had a ton of success getting the Hawkeyes to hit the ball high in the air for lots of easy flyouts. He didn’t get a strikeout until the sixth inning, where he got two of them, end his outing with a quality start.
Devin Taylor, in his last collegiate game, showed why he is a potential first round MLB draft pick. He drove in the first four runs of the game with a three-run homer and an RBI single. He also started the game off by drawing a walk. “Devin had a really special day.” At then end of day Taylor was leading the tournament in RBIs. Hed added another single later in the day.
“He’s playing his best baseball the last three or four weeks of the season.” Mercer says that is the goal for the entire team. “Devin was the epitome of that. Homer in both games, three hits today, and the walk, 4 RBIs. He played incredible. He will go down as one of, if not the, greatest player in the history of the program.” Mercer stressed that Taylor, “carried us” through the final stretch that saw Indiana win nine of its last 12 games, mostly on the road. “I’m very proud of who he is, and what’s he’s become.”
Indiana took advantage of walks and hit-by-pitches to score the first 5 runs on just three total hits. “Early on we expanded on some change-ups down in a full count.” Mercer had his hitters make a slight change in approach. “We always talk about when you get to a 3-2 count go back to a 2-2 mindset. You’ll sometimes take a pitch 2-2 that you would swing at 3-2.”
Fellow graduate righty Ben Grable took over on the bump. He dominated in the seventh. He dealt with a 10-pitch at bat that ended up being extra bases and a hit-by-pitch before ending the inning with his fourth strikeout on high heat. He was back to dominating in the 9th and shut the door on the Hawkeyes, earning a 9-out save.
Coach Mercer made a point to thank Hoosier Nation. “How much we appreciate the support.” Mercer said that the players, “they feel, they sense it, they see it. The fans at the games, the fans on social media, the love and support, and encouragement.” Mercer also talked about how important that is when things aren’t going so well. “Sometimes it goes really well, sometimes it doesn’t. But they never stop caring. When they feel that love reciprocated it does. It means so much to them. I see them behind closed doors. I see them after the high highs, but I see them after the low lows and how hard they take it and how tough it is when they don’t succeed. But to feel that love and appreciation and to have the thousands of fans at the games. They want to pour it out. They want to do a great job.”
With Indiana eliminated, the program starts a very important summer. On the mound, Indiana heavily relied on seniors and grad students and will be losing the bulk of the innings pitched. Taylor and centerfielder Korbyn Dickerson are expected to be drafted in the first few rounds, and other Hoosiers including Tyler Cerny have gotten draft attention. Roster limits, thanks to the ongoing negotiation on the NCAA revenue sharing settlement, are not definite yet, so the coaches aren’t even sure how many players exactly they can have in the fall.
The transfer portal opens up on June 2nd. We will be tracking that as well as the MLB Draft via our player tracking app.